“We are being erased as human beings,” said Sonia Pierre, who was born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents, in reference to the profound discrimination faced by Dominicans of Haitian descent within Dominican society and its institutions.

Sonia was a dedicated human rights defender who led the movement against the structural racism and discrimination affecting thousands of people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic. A recipient of the 2006 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, Sonia founded MUDHA (Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico-haitianas) to promote a better quality of life for the population living in the “bateyes”, areas traditionally occupied by Haitian migrants,  characterized by precarious living conditions and a lack of basic guarantees.

Sonia Pierre championed human rights cases at the international level while simultaneously building and sustaining community support in the Dominican Republic, which led to death threats against her and her family. She died in 2011 at the age of 48 from a heart attack after devoting her life to advocating for equal treatment of Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants.

Among Sonia´s efforts was bringing to the Inter-American Human Rights System the case of Yean and Bosico, two ethnic Haitian children who were wrongfully denied Dominican birth certificates. The case resulted in a 2005 landmark judgment from the Inter-American Court, the first time an international tribunal addressed the issue of statelessness and its consequences for those living without a nationality. The decision established obligations for States to prevent and reduce this phenomenon. 

Unfortunately, the situation for Dominicans of Haitian descent only worsened in the following years. 

In 2010, the country’s constitution was reformed, stipulating that those born on Dominican territory to parents with irregular migratory status would not acquire Dominican nationality. 

Later, on September 23, 2013, the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic issued Judgment TC 168-13, interpreting this reform retroactively and stating that it applied to births between 1929 and 2010. This decision arbitrarily deprived thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent of their only nationality, institutionalizing statelessness. As a consequence, the administrative authorities began a massive cancellation of birth certificates and identity documents.

In 2014, The Inter-American Court of Human Rights once again condemned the Dominican Republic for arbitrarily depriving Dominicans of Haitian descent of their nationality.  Facing mounting pressure and criticism from the international community, the Government tried to address the consequences of the sentence by promulgating Law 169-14. However, this law created additional problems by requiring thousands of people who were never able to obtain Dominican documents to declare themselves foreigners – despite being Dominican – in order to have their cases assessed.

This situation marks the largest deprivation of nationality in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean. Throughout this decade, racism and racial discrimination have persisted, causing those affected to suffer the severe repercussions of denationalization: Most of the individuals affected, having no other nationality, remain stateless, a condition that prevents them from accessing rights such as education, healthcare or employment. As a consequence, thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent find themselves in a legal limbo, and have suffered or face threats of deportation, or have left voluntarily.

Dominican Haitians and Haitian migrants continue to face discrimination in the Dominican Republic, struggling to obtain legal documents and register their children as citizens. Without proper identification, they are ineligible for social assistance and lack access to education and healthcare. Pregnant and postpartum women seeking medical care often experience discrimination if deemed Haitian, and immigration authorities have been known to conduct sweeps in hospitals to arrest and deport migrant women and girls. Between November 2022 and August 2023, over 120,000 people of Haitian descent were deported to Haiti, where many regions are controlled by armed criminal groups, and basic services and security are not guaranteed.

The magnitude of arbitrary detentions and deportations of those believed to be undocumented migrants is such that in 2022, discriminatory practices against Black people (perceived to be Haitian) prompted the United States to issue a travel warning for its Black citizens.

More than a decade after the TC 168-13 regressive ruling by the Constitutional Court, and despite the subsequent reports of international mechanisms and civil society organizations on the multiple human rights violations, the system of structural racism and discrimination that disproportionately affects tens of thousands of people of Haitian descent has yet to be dismantled. 

The Dominican Republic must comply with its obligations under international law, eliminating the systematic practice of racism and racial discrimination that the country has historically implemented against its population. Statelessness is unacceptable, it constitutes a violation of basic human rights and increases the vulnerability and exclusion of minority groups. Dominican authorities must cease arbitrary detentions and expulsions of Dominicans of Haitian descent, instead implementing an accessible and effective process to regain nationality, and therefore prevent and eradicate statelessness, guaranteeing the full enjoyment of human rights, paving the way for a just and inclusive society.